Nation States

I've returned to playing a game called Nation States. It is sort of a government simulation with thousands of players involved. I tried it out once years ago but eventually lost interest. It looks like a number of improvements have been made the last five years and I think I'll have a much longer attention span for it this time.

I no longer had the log-in for my old nation, New Newtopia. Didn't matter because I have now created Free- -Land. I'm starting off pretty good: Excellent Civil Rights, a Thriving Economy, and Superb Political Freedoms.

"The Free Land of Free- -Land is a fledgling, socially progressive nation, renowned for its absence of drug laws. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 5 million live in a state of perpetual fear, as a complete breakdown of social order has led to the rise of order through biker gangs.

The tiny, corrupt, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Religion & Spirituality, Law & Order, and Commerce. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 10%. A robust private sector is led by the Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Pizza Delivery industries.

Crime is a major problem, and the police force struggles against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Free- -Land's national animal is the Porcupine, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Quatloos."

As of yet I haven't joined the World Assembly; the UN of Nation States. While on one hand it would be great to get endorsements and vote on resolutions, the problem is that any resolution that passes becomes law for all members of the W.A. I'm not sure I want to have my people be at the mercy of others like that at this point.

My first national issue involved a proposal to make voting in elections mandatory. I didn't want to infringe on my citizens' right not to vote so needless to say that proposal failed.

I'll post some semi-regular updates to tell of my experiences with the game. It should be fun. Now I should start work on designing a new flag (right now I'm using the flag of Sealand).

If you happen to be on Nation States be sure to look my nation up.

Mutant Arena – Boimp v. Wegg

Now begins the Mutant Arena where I test the various mutants I've created over the last eight weeks. These mutants were all created using D&D Gamma World, a game by Wizards of the Coast.

In the ruins of Rah-Chez-Tur a pair of mutants meet to fight. Stalking each other through the rubble strewn streets of the ancient city each looks for an advantage. Of course the translucent Boimp has this advantage with natural camouflage and gets the drop on its opponent. An attack of paralytic goo inflicts 11 points of damage on Wegg and reveals the bouncing mass of gelatin. However the goo has slowed Wegg’s reflexes a bit.

Wegg activates his Lodestone Lure in an attempt to keep Wegg from escaping, but his magnetic waves miss their intended target. Shortly afterwards the mild paralysis Wegg was suffering fades.

Since the goo worked so well the first time Boimp attempts to use it again, however he misses his target. Now fully mobile and at full speed Wegg is a much more difficult target. Wegg pulls away, getting some distance from his enemy. His hyper-balance is of great aid to outrunning the bouncing ball of death.

Boimp throws his dream grenade at Wegg and knocks the mutant unconscious. As it moves in to make the kill Wegg’s artificial blood helps him regain consciousness. He then quickly charges Boimp using an axe and his maximum overdrive mutant power. His axe glances off Boimp inflicting 7 damage and disorienting his foe.

Due to his disorientation Boimp misses Wegg with its own attack. Wegg continues to swing his axe, hitting a second time and inflicting 9 damage.

Boimp’s unluck continues as he bounces off a partially collapsed wall and tries to goo Wegg. Wegg easily rolls out of the way and swings again, hitting with his trusty axe a third time. The 13 damage inflicted is enough to slice through a nerve cluster in Boimp and drops the mutant.

Wegg wins!

His reward is not only survival, but advancing in level!

So which two of the remaining six should do battle next week?

Mutant of the Week - Barnabas

This weeks mutant is all gold…. Well form Legion of Gold anyway; presenting a Photonic-Saurian!

STR: 16 (+3)
DEX: 6 (-2)
CON: 12 (+1)
INT: 18 (+4)
WIS: 14 (+2)
CHA: 15 (+2)

+2 Dark overcharge

Fortitude Defense: 16
Reflex Defense: 16
Will Defense: 13
Armor Class: 16
Hit Points: 24

SKILLS
Science +8, Nature +4

MUTANT POWERS
Laser Resistance
Glowing Blades
Sonic Resistance
Tyrannosaur Charge

BACKGROUND
Holy cats a giant purple glowing dinosaur! Barnabas appears as an overweight humanoid-T-Rex with small antennas. He can create glowing blades of purple energy to combat his foes.

Barnabas is gullible, enthusiastic, and dutiful. He is also willing to do anything to help a friend or anyone else in need. Unfortunately he makes friends too easily and can be taken advantage of.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
Well that makes eight mutants of the week. Now comes the time when we start to pair them off, put them in a box, then shake it to make them fight.

#1 Pementa: A mutant chili pepper
#2 Wegg: A human mutant fused with a shopping cart!
#3 Zzzzzzzzzzzzz: A Nightmare-Entropic creature from another universe
#4 Fredbert: A Mind Coercer-Cryokinetic
#5 Boimp: A giant gelatinous ball!
#6 Xera: A shapechanging psychic
#7 Kitty: A mutant cat
#8 Our super dee-duper pal Barnabas

Leave a comment and let me know what match-ups you’d like to see first as next week brings the Mutant Arena!

Start of the 2011 Roc City Roller Derby season

The new Roc City Roller Derby season started this last Saturday at the Dome Arena. The place was packed, but not quite a sell-out. I’ve heard of the terrible attendance figures for the Amerks over the last year or so, averaging 2,800 (which from what I’ve heard on local sports shows is an inflated number). It’s a shame that the Roller Derby doesn’t get the coverage that other local sports do.

Looking over at the Democrat & Chronicle website there is no real coverage of the sport, only a brief mention of the season starting.

Anyway, on to the main event. The three home teams battled each other in a round-robin bout.

Part One:
Midtown Maulers v. 5-H8-5s 83 to 55.
There were a lot of penalties during this bout, most of them earned by the 5-H8-5s.

Part Two:
Rotten Chesters v. 5-H8-5s 61 to 20
With two bouts over the 5-H8-5s had a total of only 75 points, not enough to overtake the Maulers.

Part Three:
Rotten Chesters v. Midtown Maulers 59 to 35
I was expecting the Maulers to win this one but that was not to be. Not only did they lose this bout but in terms of overall score the Rottenchesters beat them out for the night by two points.

So the final score was:
Rotten Chesters 120
Midtown Maulers 118
5-H8-5s 75

I'll try to take better notes next time. This weekend I was very sleep deprived.

Mutant of the Week - Kitty

This weeks mutant is a Felinoid-Mind Coercer

STR: 10 (0)
DEX: 18 (+4)
CON: 15 (+2)
INT: 11 (0)
WIS: 13 (+1)
CHA: 16 (+3)

+2 Bio overcharge

Fortitude Save: 13
Reflex Save: 15
Will Save: 16
Armor Class: 15
+1 to Speed

Skills
Interaction +4, Stealth +4, Mechanics +4

Mutant Powers
Catfall
Slasher’s Claws
Group Telepathy
Mental Push

Background
Kitty is cute and loveable. She is basically a cat or rather large size who is very fluffy and cute. Her mental powers make her all the more irresistible. She uses this cuteness to get in close to her opponents and deals with them using her nasty claws.

Her claws are very dexterous and she has taken up a hobby of tinkering with junk and salvage. She usually keeps her mechanical skills a secret so that she can utilize them when others are not expecting it.

Her goals include safety and comfort. Of course given the nature of a post-apocalyptic world most of the survivors are looking for the same thing.

Book Review - The Maker of Universes

I’m not sure why I waited so long to read this book. It is the first of the World of Tiers Series by Philip José Farmer. This book had great influence on Roger Zelazny as he created his Chronicles of Amber series. I became interested in the Amber series nearly twenty years ago when a diceless role-playing game was released set in the Amber universe.

On top of this, about five years ago I learned of the Wold Newton Universe that was a creation of Philip José Farmer. I loved the Wold Newton concept and began exploring Farmer’s other writings.

So now, finally, I’ve begun reading a series by one of my favorite authors which was the basis of another author’s creation that became one of the my favorite role-playing games. As I said earlier, I’m not sure why I waited so long to begin reading it.

I was not disappointed in it.

The tale begins in Arizona circa 1965. Robert Wolff, an old man facing retirement, discovers a portal to another world. A man named Kickaha in that world throws him a horn that can open the portal to that world. Later Wolff manages to re-open the portal and finds himself in a fantastic new world.

Over a period of days he encounters the peaceful and child-like natives. It is a world of plenty with little suffering; a paradise. During these early days Wolff begins to lose weight and becomes younger.

However paradise is not all it’s cracked up to be. Immortality and having all their need met have made the natives weak and unable to handle the simplest of challenges. Wolff meets and eventually falls in love with a strange woman named Chryseis. She claims to be the same Chryseis mentioned in the stories of the Trojan Wars.

Things begin to get interesting as strange misshapen creatures appear hunting the horn in Wolff’s possession. On top of this, these creatures have also kidnapped Kickaha and plan to take him to the Lord of the world. Additionally we find out why the series is called World of Tiers. This new world is a series of gigantic cylinders stacked atop each other. Thirty to sixty thousand foot climbs are required to get up or down to another tier of the world, an act that is forbidden by the Lord.

To make a long story short, and to avoid giving away any spoilers of the storyline, Wolff, Kickaha, Chryseis, and others make their way across all of the layers of the World of Tiers in an attempt to learn the secret of the Lord. They travel across the varied and interesting civilizations across the various tiers. The whole story captures the feel of the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Overall this book is very interesting, an easy read, and a perfect set up for a series. If you like interesting worlds, monsters, and civilizations it might be worth your while to give this book a shot.

ADDITIONAL NOTE – 2011 READING CHALLENGE
While poking around looking at book review blogs and looking for ways to make my future book reviews less lame I came across the 100+ Reading Challenge at My Overstuffed Bookshelf blog. It is an attempt to get people to try to read a hundred or more books during the year.

I’ve gotten a slow start this year, but since audio books are included in the count I might have a shot. I think that in a normal year I read thirty to forty books, but it will be interesting and motivational to keep track of what I’m reading. Unfortunately it doesn’t include short stories, magazines, and internet articles that take up a chunk of my reading time.

At least I’ll get some extra mileage out of my library card this year.

Mutant of the Week - Xera

This week we've got a Shapeshifter-Precient. Actually it's kinda a strange one to roll given the week I've had.

STR: 9 (-1)
DEX: 12 (+1)
CON: 16 (+3)
INT: 16 (+3)
WIS: 10 (0)
CHA: 18 (+4)

Hit Points: 28
Fortitude Save: +14
Relfex Save: +16
Will Save: +16
Armor Class: 12

+2 to bio overcharge

Skills - Interaction +8, Acrobatics +4

Mutant Powers
Subtle Motive
Shapeshift Feint
Third Eye
Thwarted Defense

Background
Xera was a hideous mutant as a child. Tar-like blackish-green lumpy skin, triple the normal weight for a humanoid her size. All of that changed at adulthood when her mutant powers fully manifested. Now she can take the shape of just about any humanoid she can imagine.

Combined with here extraordinary ability to read people she had become a master of disguise and deception. She uses these powers primarily for survival, sometimes to benefit herself in property, and occasionally because of the sense of power she has manipulating and fooling people.

More Movie Reviews

Over the years I have written some other movie reviews on another blog. Below is a list of some of them with links to the original reviews. Most of these are war films.

The Blue Max: The story of a German aviator during World War I and the class struggles in Germany at that time. One of my favorite air combat films set during the Great War.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A German boy befriends a Jewish boy who is in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Several parts of the story don’t make real sense, but it is a power film all the same.

Breaker Morant: Set during the Second Boer War. Tells the story of Australian soldiers on trial for murder.
“War changes men’s natures. The barbarities of war are seldom committed by abnormal men, the tragedy of war is that these horrors are committed by normal men in abnormal situations….Soldiers at war are not to be judged by civilian rules… even though they commit acts which calmly viewed afterwards could only be seen as unchristian and brutal….. We cannot hope to judge such men unless we ourselves have been submitted to the same pressures, the same provocations as these men whose actions are on trial.”

The Dawn Patrol: World War I air war movie. Errol Flynn & David Niven star.

Hell’s Angels: Another World War I air combat movie. Some very innovative stuff in it considering it was made in 1930. This one was made by Howard Hughes.

Joyex Noel: A mediocre telling of the story of the Christmas Truce during World War I. Not a terrible film, but it doesn’t live up to the potential of the real event.

Mutant of the Week – Boimp

Dang, I was hoping for a Gelatinous-Plaguebearer but instead my dice gave me: Gelatinous-Wheeled

STR: 18 (+4)
DEX: 12 (+1)
CON: 16 (+3)
INT: 9 (-1)
WIS: 8 (-1)
CHA: 17 (+3)

Skills: Stealth +4, Athletics +4, Conspiracy +4

Fortitude Defense: 17
Reflex Defense: 14
Will Defense: 14
Armor Class: 11
Initiative Modifier: +2
Hit Points: 28

Powers
+2 Bio Overcharge
Translucent
Paralytic Goo
All-Wheel Drive
Maximum Overdrive

Background
Boimp is a translucent blob of gelatinous material in a spherical form a little over four feet in diameter. In the center of this mass is a humanish skull with tendrils of nerves spreading all throughout the mass. Boimp has trouble changing its shape from this spherical one so tends to roll and bounce around for movement. It can create temporary arms and digits to manipulate equipment and can draw small items into its mass for transportation.

The gelatinous mass of its body rolls around in any direction while the central skull stays relatively stable. Boimp doesn’t get dizzy rolling around the neighborhood.

Boimp’s favorite places to roam are the ruined highways. Always on the lookout for useful salvage and potential enemies (and friends!). It is very enthusiastic about learning new things and uncovering conspiracies.

LPNY 2010 Results

In the last gubernatorial election here in New York the Libertarian Party of New York had its best showing in its forty-year history. Unfortunately that still ended up being 1,614 votes too short. Candidate for Governor Warren Redlich earned 48,386 votes but didn’t receive the 50,000 needed to give the LPNY ballot access.

What is ballot access? Ballot Access would allow for primary elections and allow for statewide candidates to be exempted from having to petition. Petitioning in a process where, for statewide candidates, over fifteen-thousand signatures are required from a majority of the state’s congressional districts to get on the ballot. It is an expensive and time consuming procedure. That’s just the basics, as with anything else it is more complicated. Check out the New York State Board of Elections for more information.

Ballot access would allow for resources to be spent in better ways. Informing the public about a candidate and running their campaign as opposed to trying to get signatures.

The televised Governor’s debate that brought in all of the candidates was of great help. It allowed the LPNY to get part of its message out. Unfortunately I don’t think that we’ll see the third parties invited back again.

Who gained ballot access in the 2010 election? Just six parties making up only three candidates. The Democrats and Republicans both easily had over 50,000 votes each… they each easily had over a million votes each. Beyond that were the Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green parties. Out of these additional four only the Green party ran its own candidate for governor. For the most part the other parties I mentioned just nominated a Democrat or Republican for all of the slots they wanted to fill. To me that makes these other parties less legitimate, the Greens and Libertarians ran their own people but the Conservative, Working Families, and so-called Independence party did not.

Now there is nothing wrong with a candidate running for a couple of parties. Smaller parties may want to take advantage of nominating a couple of candidates from other parties if their philosophy is favorable. Its just when entire third parties exist that have nothing of their own to run on. To be fair the Conservatives have run their own candidates for governor in the past, but not many recently. The Independence party should really have been called the Golisano Party since it was the vehicle for his own attempt to win the governorship. Once Golisano left I’m not sure what the point or ideals of the Independence Party are.

So basically instead of having six choices we only have two or three choices with different party names attached to them to make us feel like we have choice. Of course maybe I’m out of touch; if the people wanted more than two parties they would vote for a third, forth, and fifth party. All I usually hear is a lot of grumbling about the lack of choice by people who either end up not voting or voting for one of the two major parties. In a way that is amusing, in another way that is sad.

If everyone who didn’t vote who could have in the last election here in New York voted for Warren or Jimmy McMillan that person would now be Governor, so don’t think you don’t have power.

Campaign finance reform, fairness doctrines, and civility won’t save our political system. People going out and voting for what they think is best is what we need. The Democrats & Republicans want you to stay home on Election Day, they already have enough votes.